Weddings can already be quite expensive even without the cost of food and catering services. With all the trimmings and trappings like floral arrangements, the bridal dress, and venue expenses it’s not long before you’ve racked up a lot more debt than you were hoping. Saving money on wedding food, while simultaneously providing a delicious meal for your wedding guests is a great way to help keep the total costs of your wedding at a minimum. Here we’ll provide you with a few great ideas on how to save money on wedding food.
Self Catering
Especially if someone in your family is a chef, asking them to plan and prepare a meal for your big day could be one of the best ways to save money on food. Catering ends up being one of the most expensive aspects of total wedding costs, with the average price ranging between $40 to $150 per person. If you are able to bring this cost down, you’re doing yourself a massive favor. Obviously you’ll have to factor in the cost of groceries and perhaps some preparation costs. However, preparing the wedding meal yourself could be a big money saver on your big day.
Maybe one of your close friends or family is a baker? Consider asking them to bake your wedding cake! This could make the experience all the more personalised and meaningful.
Taco Bar
Having an open Taco Bar at your wedding is an inexpensive and delicious option. Just make sure to serve a wide variety of toppings and fillings so that everyone can find something they like. This is an easy meal to buy the ingredients for yourself. Plus, it’s a dietary friendly option and relatively easy to set up.
Pizza
If tacos aren’t your thing, then why not a pizza bar? Similar to tacos you can provide a bunch of different toppings from mushrooms and olives to pepperoni and pineapple.
Pasta
If it’s not tacos or pizza, then a pasta bar could be the one. Once again, you can provide plenty of different toppings and sauces.
Charcuterie Boards
Local grocery stores often provide pre-prepared charcuterie boards complete with different meats, cheeses, olives, fruits, nuts and spreads. This is a classic snack, and although it’s not the most filling, you’re sure to please your guests.
Keep it Veggie!
Meat is generally quite a bit more expensive than vegetarian dishes. You’ll not only be able to appease your vegetarian guests by keeping your wedding food meat-free, you’ll also be doing the planet a big favor. Just make sure to also provide dishes that have protein. Foods like beans, chickpeas and lentils are all in your wheel-house. If you still want to serve burgers or chicken, there’s some brands out there such as Beyond Meat which provide great alternatives to beef and taste just as delicious.
Food Truck
A classic food truck is typically a lot cheaper than a professional wedding catering service. Just decide whether you want something sweet or savory. Some ideas include a burger and fries wagon, a taco truck, ice cream or fresh doughnuts.
Order Delivery
Ordering a meal with UberEats or DoorDash can also be less expensive than hiring a complete catering service.
Here’s a few ideas to help you save money on wedding food. One final tip would be to keep it as simple as possible while at the same time providing enough food. Rather than providing ten average dishes, consider serving two or three delicious, hearty options. It’s generally a lot cheaper to serve one item in bulk than it is to serve the same amount of food in a variety of forms.
– Bernard Paul